Max & Murphy: Mayor Takes Oath, Speaker Takes Office, Gov Takes Stock

Mayoral Photo Office/William Alatriste for the City Council/Office of the Governor

Mayor de Blasio's frigid inauguration, Corey Johnson's sudden ascension and Governor Cuomo's sweeping state of the state speech are all in the books, and we aren't even at Wild Card Weekend.

Three New York political leaders at distinctly different junctures in their careers made big speeches this week. A mayor coming off a commanding re-election victory and pivoting toward some role on the national stage gave his second inaugural address. A second-term City Councilman was elected speaker of that body and gave his first citywide speech. A governor in the last year of his second term, facing re-election and possibly eyeing a run for president, gave a state of the state address.

All three speeches offered more poetry than prose, as big speeches are supposed to do. Bill de Blasio talked about a “fairer” city without defining exactly how that would be measured. Corey Johnson discussed a more “independent” Council without explaining how that independence would affect city policy. And Andrew Cuomo discussed jail reviews and road-tolling schemes and a possible shift from income to payroll taxes while leaving the details for another day.

Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and yours truly broke down a few of the broader themes in our weekly podcast. Listen below. And then, if you missed them, watch or read about the week’s big speeches even further down.

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